Volume 4 Chapter 104 A Losing Battle
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The estate that had the watchtower was very large, and among all of its rooms, the biggest one was the hall where the orgy party had been held the night before. If you opened the storm shutters, it faced the courtyard, and on the opposite side of the hall, there was a building that served as the general’s residence. Late at night, the hall was lit by only two candles, but even in that dim light, you could see over a hundred armored samurai: they were lying all over the floor, and they were packed in so tightly that there was barely any room to move between them.
”What is wrong?” Kenze asked immediately as soon as I sat up.
”Nothing,” I said. “I just need to pee.”
”Then I am coming with you,” she replied.
Kenze stood up to follow me, but before she could take more than a few steps, the nun named Nyodai blocked her way.
”The women’s latrine is in this direction,” Nyodai said.
Kenze, who did not understand the local language at all, stared at the nun with a hostile expression; then she turned to me, and she asked me what the nun had said to her.
”She is offering to take you to the women’s toilet,” I explained.
As soon as I translated the words for her, Kenze clicked her tongue in annoyance, and she followed Nyodai without saying anything else.
”Guest,” a voice called out to me, “come with me.”
It was the strange monk, Sugan. He was the highest-ranking person in this entire camp, yet he had been sleeping on the hard floor, right next to the other samurai, as if he were no different from them at all. We stepped over the sleeping warriors as we walked toward the general’s residence, and then we slipped outside through a sliding door.
Outside, there was a small open area, which was big enough for about a dozen soldiers to stand together. Braziers were burning at each corner to provide light and heat, which reminded me that we were in the middle of a war. When the monk appeared, the guards who were on duty there bowed to him respectfully.
A hedge separated this open area from the general’s mansion, and the monk walked up to that hedge; then he started to urinate, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
In the Edo period, I thought to myself, this would have been a crime that would get your head cut off.
”What is wrong, guest?” the monk asked, noticing my expression.
”Um,” I said, “is that not the general’s residence on the other side of that hedge? Would this not count as a serious crime?”
Even though the cold air was making me desperate to go, I asked him anyway, because I was genuinely surprised by what he was doing.
”The general is not here anymore,” the monk replied.
Oh, I thought. If he is not here, then I suppose…
Wait. No, no, no. Even if he was not here right now, that still did not make it okay to urinate on his hedge.
But nature does not care about polite behavior, and since I could not hold it in any longer, I fumbled with the cord on my trousers, and I relieved myself as well. Just in time, too.
”Even though there is a war going on,” I said, “the general is not here?”
”He is just a figurehead,” the monk replied. “It is better for us if he stays away from the fighting. That way, there is less food that we need to burn through. So we sent him away.”
”Sent him away?” I repeated.
”To Kyoto, maybe?” the monk said, shrugging.
”He was from there originally,” the monk continued. “This morning, we planned to sneak him through the pass at Keshiki-zaka, since that area is not very well guarded. But, well… those wandering shrine maidens ended up being killed there, so we sent him east instead.”
The “wandering shrine maidens,” as everyone called them, were women who wore miko clothing and who played music and danced and sold their bodies for money. That morning, a group of them had tried to leave Kamakura through Keshiki-zaka, and every single one of them had been shot dead with arrows. Because of that, we had learned that the enemy general, whose name was Nitta, was now stationed at Keshiki-zaka.
”Um,” I said carefully, “what happened to Akabashi? Or should I say, Hojo Moritoki?”
I was asking about the man who had been at the center of the feast two nights ago, acting as if he were the leader of all the samurai. He had been ordered to hold his position and not to advance, but instead of obeying that order, he had crossed Kofukuro-zaka, and he had charged into enemy territory, and he still had not come back.
”Moritoki?” the monk said. “He is probably dead by now.”
The monk said this very lightly, as if he were talking about the weather, while he finished what he was doing. Even though the system around him was falling apart, Moritoki had apparently been trying very hard to do his job as shikken, but the monk told me that he had been a fool—a fool who could not see that he had become as empty and useless as the general himself. According to the monk, Moritoki had given up, and he had gone out looking for a place to die.
Now that I thought about it, the Hojo of Luzon had been looking for the same thing. In this world, honor seemed to matter more than life itself.
”Well,” the monk said, “I am wide awake now. Guest, come and have a drink with me.”
He led me to one of the general’s private rooms. There was tatami flooring in there—the first time I had seen it in a very long time—and some candles were flickering; a tray with dishes and a brazier were brought in for us. This was exactly what I would have expected from the upper class, I thought.
While we were drinking, I asked him about the name “Hojo Tokimori” for Akabashi. The monk explained that surnames like Akabashi, Osaragi, and Kanazawa were all branches of the main Hojo family, which was called the Tokuso line. They took their names from the lands that they had been given, but in formal situations, they used the Hojo name.
”By the way, guest,” the monk said as he poured sake into my cup, “what battles have you fought so far?”
”The one that I remember the most,” I replied, “would be the Battle of Trabius. We had accepted that we were going to die there.”
When I said this, the monk leaned forward eagerly, and he demanded that I tell him the whole story. So I told him about how our general had captured a town that had belonged to the Proton Knights, and then how Maya’s hag army had taken it back, only to lose it again; I told him about how we had been trapped in a siege, and about how, during the final defense, we had accepted that we would all die. But just as the city was about to fall, the regular army from our homeland had arrived, and they had saved us at the very last moment.
As I was telling this story, I had to stop several times to explain that the castles in my homeland were walled cities, and that they had golems and magic tools that were completely different from anything that existed here. The monk listened to all of this with visible enjoyment.
”So you were a king, then?” he said.
”In a way,” I replied. “But I gave the throne to my son almost immediately, because of the schemes that were happening in my homeland.”
”At such a young age?” the monk said. “That is very interesting.”
It seemed that he only half-believed my story, and that he thought it was just a tall tale. Well, since I was from a land that was tens of thousands of kilometers away, I did not really mind if he thought that.
Come to think of it, I wondered how Viscount Veresk was doing—the one who had come to help us even though the battle had seemed hopeless. Had he founded the Principality of Moscow yet? The face of my old friend, who had been losing his hair even when he was still young, came back to me.
”What do you think of this war, guest?” the monk asked suddenly.
I did not know anything about the political situation, so I had no way of answering his question. Still, I thought about it: the shikken had charged ahead even though he had been ordered not to, and there had been a party with wandering shrine maidens right before the battle. Either there was no discipline at all in this army, or the discipline was so weak that it was almost useless. Unless the enemy commander was very stupid, these soldiers had no chance of winning.
”I do not really know,” I said carefully, “but the air around here does not feel like war to me. If I could, I would turn around and go home.”
I could not say directly that we were going to lose, so I wrapped my answer in polite words instead.
”What a sharp tongue you have,” the monk replied.
Even though I had tried to hide my true meaning, he had understood what I was really saying.
”Well,” he said calmly, “this is a battle that we cannot win anyway.”
Hey, hey, I thought. If the commanding officer is saying something like that, then it is already over. I did not want to have anything to do with a war like this one.
”Then can I leave now?” I asked.
I did not have any life to spare. I still had to bring everyone from the Izumo back to Schweilitz.
”Do not be so hasty,” the monk said. “Keep me company for a little while longer. I will make sure that you get back to that black ship that brought you here.”
Why did I have to stay? I wondered. There was nothing here for me.
”The black ship has moved further out to sea,” the monk explained. “The coast is full of boats from the Osaragi clan. How were you planning to get back?”
If I reached the coast and I sent a signal with my big Fireball spell, they would come to get me. But unless the battle started and everything fell into chaos, I would be caught long before I reached the shore.
”See?” the monk said.
Whether he had read the answer on my face or not, he looked satisfied, and he poured me more sake.
”What about your children?” I asked.
If he had accepted that he was going to lose this battle, then was he prepared for his children to die as well?
”Two sons,” he replied. “They have different mothers.”
I stared at him, asking with my eyes what he intended to do with them. He said that he had left them with men whom he trusted, and that if luck was on their side, they would survive.
”Speaking of which,” I said, “the Hojo of Luzon mentioned something about the Boltechino encirclement. What is happening with that?”
”Do not worry,” the monk replied. “They will not attack for at least ten years.”
I was confused by this answer.
”Why do you think they have invaded this country twice already?” the monk asked.
”To conquer the land and to make their territory bigger, I suppose,” I said, because I could not think of any other reason.
”First of all,” the monk explained, “the Boltechino are a tribe of horsemen. Would they really want to conquer lands that horses cannot even reach?”
Well, when he put it that way, I supposed they would not.
”The first time,” he continued, “they invaded to take the wealth of the peninsula and to weaken its army. The second time, I believe, was to reduce the population of the Jurchen state that they had destroyed.”
According to the monk, the first invasion force had been made up mostly of soldiers from the peninsula. The Boltechino had made a kingdom there build transport ships and send soldiers, which drained the strength of that kingdom. In fact, when the people of this land counterattacked into the peninsula and the coastal areas, they gained almost nothing from it.
”Although I think that part of the reason was to test our strength, as well,” the monk added.
The second time, the Boltechino had sent ships that were full of over a hundred thousand immigrants. The enormous Red Flame Balls that were launched from their catapults had surprised even the samurai of the Land of Shura, but the warriors here had adapted quickly. The rest of the Boltechino’s military strength was the same as before. Even if I looked at it very generously, the Boltechino side did not have any card that would make them win.
Then a storm had struck, and most of the immigrants had drowned; the ones who survived were captured and killed by the Chinzei forces. The bay where their ships had anchored turned red with blood. Kamakura had given the captured ships to the local Matsura clan, and they had ordered them to raid the coasts of the lands that the Boltechino controlled.
”But you cannot say that a third invasion will not happen,” I pointed out. “They have taken Daqin now. It would not be strange for them to start expanding overseas. In fact, Luzon had a state that was under their influence.”
”The Boltechino do not manage the lands that they take by themselves,” the monk replied. “The royal family and the nobles from Daqin sailed away in large numbers. Those nobles knew how to run territories. Without them, the Boltechino would have to either bring in outsiders or do the work themselves. I do not think that they will move until the former Daqin has become stable.”
That made sense, I supposed. But that did not mean that they would not attack just because their national power was large enough.
”Besides,” the monk said, and his eyes were smiling when he said it, “there are richer countries to the west than some island that they cannot reach on horseback. The Turkic Empire, for example, and the Kingdom of Schweilitz. Those are lands that they can attack with the cavalry that they are so proud of.”
Now that he mentioned it, I realized that he was probably right.
”That is why this country is safe,” the monk said, “even while it is drowning in its own civil war.”
He smiled with satisfaction when he said this. But still, drowning in civil war was not a good thing, and I told him so.
”The shugo land stewards and the provincial governors started abusing their power after the second Boltechino invasion,” he explained. “Kamakura could not stop them. Resentment grew across the land, and conflicts started to break out. Fields were abandoned, and countless people died. If the Boltechino attacked now and Kamakura called for troops to defend the country, nobody would come.”
So the situation was that bad, I thought. But even though discipline might be weak here, the samurai had still gathered. Kamakura still seemed to have some power to bring people together.
”I am tired of talking,” the monk said. “I will sleep for a while.”
He lay down on the tatami floor, and I wondered how he could be so calm about losing this battle.
Dawn arrived. When I went back to the main hall, the maids were giving out the morning meal: brown rice porridge, dried small fish, miso, and pickled vegetables. While I was teasing Kenze about finally getting used to using chopsticks, a report arrived. Hojo Moritoki, who had been filled with guilt because he had lost so many of his soldiers, had taken his own life the previous evening. Just as the monk had said, he was dead.
After breakfast, I climbed back up the swaying watchtower. There were small fights throughout the day, but no major battle took place. Following the monk’s orders, the large war-golems that had been stationed at each mountain pass were brought together at Gokuraku-ji, Keshiki-zaka, and Kofukuro-zaka. At Keshiki-zaka, I could see two large enemy golems as well.
The next day at noon, a report came in: a battle between small golems at the Gokuraku-ji pass had ended with the enemy commander’s head being taken. The samurai who were resting in the hall cheered when they heard this news. But from the watchtower, I could see that the smoke from the enemy’s cooking fires was increasing, especially beyond Gokuraku-ji. The monk noticed it too, and he started moving his troops around in response.
The following day, snow fell, covering the ground by about a centimeter. A report confirmed that there were three large enemy golems visible beyond the Gokuraku-ji pass. But no major fight happened. The snow stopped, and the sky over Kamakura cleared to a deep purple color as the sun went down. In that light, word came that the families of the people who had been found to be betraying Kamakura were being executed at Yuigahama.
”Tomorrow,” the monk said to me, “is the final battle. You will ride a large war-golem, and you will join the attack.”
Could it be, I wondered, that this was why he had kept me here this whole time? Not because he thought I was carrying a god of victory, but simply because I had enough mana to power a golem?
”After we return,” the monk continued, “Nyodai and Eizen will guide you to the black ship, just as I promised you before.”
He said this, and the two nuns pressed their hands together and bowed to me.
”Surely,” Kenze said slowly, “you did not think… that you would be getting… these two… as a reward for your trouble, did you?”
No way, I thought. That is not happening at all.
—
Summary:
The protagonist and Kenze settle into the doomed Kamakura camp, where the monk Sugan reveals the general has been sent away and the shikken Moritoki is already dead. Over drinks, Sugan explains Kamakura’s geopolitical safety from the Boltechino, while the protagonist realizes he’s been kept as a mana battery for the final battle. As snow falls and enemy forces gather, Sugan confirms the decisive engagement will come tomorrow – and that the protagonist will ride a war-golem into it.
—
Trivia:
Sugan urinated against the general’s hedge – a capital offense in the Edo period, but the general is absent.
The wandering shrine maidens were all shot dead at Keshiki-zaka, inadvertently revealing Nitta’s position there.
Moritoki defied orders, crossed Kofukuro-zaka, and died by seppuku – exactly as Sugan predicted.
Hojo surnames like Akabashi (Red Bridge), Osaragi, and Kanazawa are branch families of the main Tokuso Hojo line.
The Boltechino are a horsemen tribe with no interest in islands; their two invasions were for wealth and population control.
Daqin’s nobles fled by seed ship, leaving the Boltechino unable to administer conquered lands – buying Kamakura at least a decade.
The protagonist’s mana is the real reason Sugan kept him – not as a luck charm, but to pilot a war-golem.
Nyodai and Eizen are promised as guides to the black ship – but only if the protagonist survives the final sortie.
Notes:
• Kenze – Kenze is a muscular, brown-skinned Amazoness and former Tashkurgan operative turned research student. An observant, teasing guardian with dragon tattoos, she wears gauntlet-like armor and fights with formal precision. Formerly bonded with Earnest and now a rebel leader on the Izumo, she works with Tatyana, rooms with Larry—whom she prioritizes above all—and is currently nursing an egg while declining in health.
• Nyodai – One of two nuns at Tōshōji Temple. Participates in holding Kenze hostage. Presses her palms together in a bow when addressed.
• Sugan – A lay monk with a shaved head and dirty robes, whose clean, youthful face suggests deliberate roughness. Despite his scruffy appearance, he possesses ultimate authority and connections to high-ranking officials. Calm, calculating, and speaking with folk wisdom, he knows of Amazonesses, the Boltechino, and the protagonist’s capabilities, refusing to let them leave due to their “god of victory.”
• Ed – A lanky refugee youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and fierce protector is now a Military Academy student making claims about the Poll Tax and mortality. Formerly an associate of Captain Bours, he witnessed the Mauer Village skirmish, fled to Strock Village, and joined the militia to train spear-walls and ambush mercenaries, remembered for his quiet resolve to survive.
• Hojo Moritoki – The true name of Red Bridge. A samurai commander serving under Sugan-sama’s authority. Takes orders from the monk with formal deference.
• Moritoki – Also known as Red Bridge. The shikken of Kamakura who defied orders and led a sortie across Kofukuro-zaka. Died by seppuku after losing many soldiers. A Hojo branch family member from the Red Bridge lineage.
• Hojo – An unsettling, aggressive male warrior from a fallen clan and ambassador/lord of the Land of Shura, this “Berserker” commands Imai and the Izumo. Dressed in sumo referee-inspired garb with a gauntlet, knee guards, and hip-mounted longsword, he has an intense, unblinking gaze. Linked to the Hojo clan, he speaks in imperious, clipped Kamakura-period Japanese. Driven by honor and trauma from his family’s slaughter, he views lethal violence as jest, yet shows restraint before outbursts.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Trabius – The city currently under siege and being defended by the protagonist and his allies.
• Maya – Elderly, ruthless Marshal Yan of Larland commands knights and golems in full plate armor. Dubbed a “hag,” this salt-and-pepper haired warlord orchestrates regional conflicts, burns civilians, and feuds fiercely with the Fee Grand Principality. Driven by ambition, she once attempted to hijack the Provisional Kingdom and crown herself queen, maintaining a brutal grip on power and her enemies.
• Principal – The mother of Line and the administrative head of the institution. She exercises authoritative control over research assignments and seeks to trade Larry for Ilse Klein due to interpersonal conflicts in her laboratories. The mother of Sabrina and Rhein who intervenes during Rhein’s violent corridor assault to break up the confrontation.
• Viscount – A noble of the Rus who insisted on bringing reinforcements to the defense of the city.
• Veresk – Viscount of the border town Veresk, his armor bears his family crest and he commands a cavalry unit. He rides in with grim news of a military disaster, pleading for neighboring aid, reshaping alliances as he joins the looming war.
• Schweilitz – This kingdom, featuring towering academy spires and a full military arsenal of Royal Army troops, forces the protagonist to return. Ruled by a king involved in a hostage exchange, this political power holds a captive feared for execution. It also ordered the confirmation of Princess Rosa’s corpse, driving a scheme that the Queen has caught onto.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• The Boltechino – Military force that conquered Takshurgan. The main antagonist faction referenced throughout the chapter.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Eizen – A second Buddhist nun mentioned alongside Nyodai. No spoken dialogue in this chapter. Assigned with Nyodai to escort the protagonist to the black ship after the battle. The other nun at Tōshōji Temple. The one who moves impossibly fast to drain Kenze’s mana. Stood with blood seeping through her robes after Kenze fought back.
• Red Bridge – A high-ranking warrior who initially appeared as the leader of the household. Actually subordinate to Sugan-sama. Commands forces in the northeast. Despite orders not to advance, leads a charge into enemy territory and does not return.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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